I have soooooooooooo many things to post, but I have to write them all first. Otherwise, if you notice the site is down, it’s because I am redoing it.

xo

Versace

Oscar de la Renta

Michale Kors

Giambattista Valli pre-fall

Donna Karen

“So Jo. Why would you share something like this with us?” you might be asking.

Two reasons. The first, because I read an article on Beauty Brains called Can you train your hair to be less oily? and secondly, because enough people have asked me about my hair that I feel like I should come clean about my secret.

So here is the story behind it.

During the summer of 2006, I dyed my hair a reddish-brown and every time I washed it, I literally saw my money going down the drain. I decided that if I didn’t wash my hair, I wouldn’t lose my color (brilliant, right?). So I stopped washing it. On top of it not only being a hot summer, I was taking dance classes, meaning I was sweating more than the average bum. Needless to say I was a greasy mess, but I put up with it so I could save my hair color. After slowly pushing the time in between washes, I am now able to go a month without washing my hair.

I know that sounds gross, but here’s the thing. My hair looks less greasy than yours does after 4 days. I don’t mean that to come off as being mean, it’s just that you can’t tell that it had been a month when you look at me. Bonus: my hair is softer than it’s ever been.Un-bonus: that’s actually a problem (what girl complains about that?) when it comes to styling my hair. I don’t typically use product, so I rely on my natural pomade to keep my coiffure up and my victory rolls tight.

So yeah, you can “train” your hair to be less greasy. I did and you can too. Think about it.

Tips if you want them:

• It takes time to train your hair. If you normally wash your hair every 3 days, push it to 4. Then push it to 5. Then push it to 6. Then push it to 7. Keep pushing!
  Accept the fact that your hair will be greasy. But hey, guess what? It’s just hair. You can still function as a member of society if you haven’t washed your hair.
  Figure out how to wear your hair so it’s less gnarly. Start wearing it up. Find a big headband. Use a scarf. Get inventive.
  Remember, people aren’t really looking at you that closely. You might have some shine, but people won’t think less of you as a person, and if they do, clip ‘em! Don’t worry about them, focus on the goal.
  It takes a while, but hang in there, it gets better.

Cheers!

View the complete Looking into the Past gallery curated by edrabbit. For even more time traveling check out the Looking into the Past group.

Photos from jasonepowell, Tinflower, and Tom™5.

Posted by Zack Sheppard
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At Leaping Lindy in Bern, Switzerland, everything ran on time. The Swiss bought our plane tickets early, arranged to pick us up on time, bought us train tickets to go to Bern from Zürich’s, put us in a lovely hotel, made sure we had food, and our drinks in the evenings were covered. Mind you, this was all the first day we arrived. On Saturday and Sunday, the students arrived early, classes started and ended on time, people were very polite, and everything was straight forward. The students were good at asking questions but mostly just listened and tried everything we told them to do. On Monday, Kevin and I had a slue of privates scheduled, but our organizer took care of all the small details that normally slip through the crack. We had a studio within walking distance to our hotel to teach 3 hours worth of classes, the students were there on time, someone had a key, the music worked in the dance studio, and there was water. Normally scheduling a private with 5 different people in another city is tricky because something is unaccounted for: the key, water, food, people run late, the sound system doesn’t work, etc., but in Switzerland, someone has accounted for everything. I was, and am, so impressed.
After three hours of privates, we headed to the station and took a train to Zürich’s where we taught another private. Again, all the details were accounted for. After the private, we headed to Uster where Kevin and I taught 2.5hr of group classes and everything ran smoothly. Classes started on time, students were on time and attentive during class, the sound system worked, and everyone had access to water. (Ooh, small slip up: Someone forgot the cable for the iPod to sound system, but the explanation of why that happened was that the person organizing the group class was German, not Swiss. Then the Swiss person arrived with a cable and we started on time).
Finally, after class was done, Kevin and I headed home with our new hosts and there place was amazing. We had a room to ourselves, both had a bed, there was laundry, and wifi. A-mazing. And everything worked!!! I was a little beside myself, but lapped up every minute of it. It’s not that things don’t run smoothly in other countries, it’s just that things run exceptionally well in Switzerland. Now, I also say that, and am impressed by that, because I like having a schedule. I like when things run on time. I am the type of person who loves writing notes on post-its. Now, all of that aside, I must say that the Swiss aren’t as eccentric as the French or Italians.

Fast forward to Wednesday. Our host drives us to the airport, walks us in, helps us with our luggage, we check in and drop our luggage. We go through passport control, do some shopping, wander around, then go through security, which Kevin and I were the ONLY ones there. Nobody else was in sight. Nada. I little bizarre, but it kinda of felt like an expensive, European Pittsburgh. We head to the boarding gate, check in, then take a bus to our plane. About an hour later, we are in Paris at CDG.

Here’s the turning point of the entire adventure. After we exited the plane, we check our boarding pass to see where to go next, and there is no mention of the next gate. Now, that’s not particularly strange, but it’s noteworthy. Unfortunately, we were in Terminal G which is a bus ride away from everything, so we needed to know if we were staying in the terminal or not. We couldn’t find our light on any of the boards, but Kev guess we should go to connecting flights which was around the corner. We got to a passport control where we could scan our plane tickets and figure out where we were going. “No record” according to Air France. So we asked passport control. They didn’t know. They said maybe we should go to terminal 1. We headed towards the next set of gates, passed luggage, and found a full board with information. Our flight was not on there. WTF! Our flight was leaving in 35 minutes and it wasn’t on the board. ARG!! The Customer Service desk is open so I headed over there. I present my ticket and ask where to go. The man behind the counter had no idea. “What the hell is going on here? Why doesn’t anyone know where this is?” I ask myself. He looks up our flight number and says that we’re taking a train.

So we’re taking a train. Why the fuck didn’t anyone know that we were taking a train?! That explains why it wasn’t on the boards, but why didn’t anyone else know this? Why did our next organizer, after I sent our itinerary not say “BTW, just so you know, you’re taking a train to Brussels.” When I double checked that planes could fly into the Railway Station in Brussels (fuck, maybe that was the first obvious giveaway), I was assured the airport was connected to the train station (which is the same as CDG so I had no need to question it). When we checked-in in Switzerland, why didn’t the attendant say anything to us? Fuck…..maybe because she didn’t know either. But if she didn’t know either, then where is our luggage? Hahha, this is getting better and better….

Kev and I are let back in to the luggage area by the man who told us we were taking a train. When Kev and I get there, we see that the luggage from our flight has all been collected. Ok, then where is it? We go over to the customer service desk and wait to be helped. Kev and I check, double check, and recheck our tickets. Our boarding passes said they were boarding passes, there was an AF plane number on it, and it said “Here is your flight Information.” Riiiiiight. That aside, it also said “Voiture 1″ which means “Car 1″ which means train. The seating was also open, but it is with Southwest as well. The boarding time and departure time were only 10 minutes apart, so that should have also been a giveaway….but still…..it said it was a boarding pass!
Finally it’s our turn with the representative. The long of the short of it is that we should try to catch the train because she doesn’t know when the next one will come and she doesn’t know where our luggage is. Mind you, our luggage has been checked all the way through to Brussels, but on what flight? Apparently on the flight we are supposed to take, but there is no plane…..only a train. Does someone take the luggage to the train? After a 3 minute phone call, we find out no. Ok…..so were is our luggage. I understand that it’s unaccounted for currently, but I am pretty darn sure it was on the plane with us from Switzerland, but where was it going? We were told it would make it to Brussels as some point and then someone would bring it to us at Air France’s expense.
That’s rather nice of them to do. Little do they know that we are in Liege which is an hour away from Brussels. I realize there is nothing we can do about this and have some extra clothing and all my valuables on me, but it’s a little bit of a hassle. Ok….now to the train. We need to take the bus terminal F and then head to the train station. Check. We have 15 minutes to do this and a 10 minutes bus ride. We will be fine, I think. Well, we should be fine because the French are a tad flexible on their time schedule; however, I’ve also accepted the fact that we were going to miss our train and figured we catch the next one, hopefully with our luggage in tow.
We catch the bus which slowly winds it’s way through the airport and make it to the train station. I race after Kevin as he runs toward signs that look appropriate. Finally we see a sign for Brussels which is not on the electronic boards, but in a small corner. Unfortunately because of the train crash a few days ago and now the trains are not in use. This means we are taking a bus.

Quick recap with some extra details that you the reader do not yet have. Originally we asked our organizer to find us flights. The only flights he could find from Switzerland were $1200/person flights. That’s ridiculous. Clearly he didn’t look that hard or he’s just used to traveling much nicer than Kevin and I are. I had also asked our other organizers in France (for the next gig) what would be the best way to get to his city. A train would be boring and long, so we should fly instead. Ok, so both of them were little to no help with transportation (in every other way, they’ve been a huge help). The Swiss have bought our international ticket, and I bought our internal-Europe tickets. I found Kevin and myself some flights, sent them to the organizers, got the ok, bought them. Yesterday before leaving for Brussels I sent an email reminding our organizers that we were coming into a different place than the main airport, just as an FYI. I get a message back saying he had class to teach, so we should take a train to Liege, and then we’ll get picked up by someone. It’s nice to be picked up by the organizer, but I understand they have lives outside of the event. It would have been nice to know earlier so that I could have scheduled around that, but no problem. Then, we find out, almost too late, that we aren’t taking a plane to Brussels, we’re taking a train. Then our luggage cannot be located because it’s been improperly tagged (has this never happened before? shouldn’t there be something in the system that alerts people to the fact they are taking a train instead of a plane?). Barely making our train, we find out it’s a bus that will take 3.5hr to get to Brussels. And still, after all of this, we will need to take a train to another city and get picked up by someone for a car ride.

Boy what a day.

I am not quite sure what tone of voice you hear me speaking in when you read this (yes, I checked that sentence and decided to keep it as it was), but I want to clarify that. I am not mad or put out in the least, I am actually rather surprised. I think because I had such an organized weekend, where all the small details were taken care of,  now I feel like this jumble-of-a-time is an adventure instead of a hassle. Luckily I don’t have to teach tonight (so no time crunch) and I was smart enough to keep my valuable and some extra clothes on me, so I am fine. I’ve got Kev – who is taking this rather well, but is a tiny bit more charged than I am about this who situation – I’ve got my computer, warm clothes and some food.

I don’t know what the weekend has in store for us, but I presume this is just the beginning of a very exciting adventure. More later…..

BONUS

QLL – Don’t take yourself too seriously. Travel days are only as stressful as YOU make them. Keep important stuff on you. Try to schedule yourself some downtime. And finally, in the words of the awesome Shesha Marvin, “There are no emergencies in lindy hop.”

Lee Alexander McQueen , born in March 16th 1969 in Hackney, London. He started making dresses for his three sisters at a young age and announced his intention of becoming a fashion designer.McQueen attended Rokeby School, also he stayed as apprenticeship with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, before joining Gieves & Hawkes and later the famous theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans.

In 1994, he applied to London’s most prestigious fashion school, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. He received his Master degree in Fashion design and his graduation collection was completely influenced by fashion stylist Isabella Blow (she committed suicide in May 2007). For years she was his best friend and she was responsible for McQueen to change his name, from Lee to Alexander, his middle name.

McQueen was known for his extravagant, avant-garde runway shows. He became “the hooligan of English fashion” and earning the title “l’enfant terrible”. However, he was elected in 1996 to be the designer of Givenchy.
His run through the house of Givenchy was not very successful, caused controversy, as a step in Autumn 1998, which showed on the catwalk car-robots spraying paint over white cotton dresses, and the model Aimee Mullins, double amputee, striding down the show on intricately carved wooden legs. He finished his days at Givenchy in March 2001.

For his enormous creativity, he was the youngest designer to win the title of “British Designer of the Year”.

The collection, McQueen, was released on 11 October 2007. He opened boutiques in New York, London, Los Angeles, Milan, and Las Vegas. Many celebrities have used his clothes in large events such as Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rihanna and lately we have seen his collection worn by Lady Gaga in her videos and live shows.

McQueen’s death comes days after the death of his mother, Joyce, and almost three years after the May 2007 suicide of his close friend Isabella Blow, who discovered the designer and helped launch his career. The designer was so upset at his friend’s death, that he dedicated his spring-summer show at Paris Fashion Week 2008 to the late Blow.

• Remembering Alexander McQueen: Interview mag
• Alexander McQueen: 1969-2010 on NY Mag
• McQueen’s greatest red carpet moments: People
• 10 key moments in McQueen’s career: InStyle
• McQueen’s most astounding pieces: NY Mag

More pictures:

McQueen’s Ballerina Pump

Met Dress from 2003

Pre-Fall 2009 Collection

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SPRING-SUMMER 2010 AD CAMPAIGN

image via here

Clothing

Hot Topic

Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature will feature pieces influenced by key story characters and locations, including Alice, the Red Queen, the White Queen, the White Rabbit and the talking flower garden. The Alice In Wonderland-inspired collection will showcase unique details inspired by the film, such as Victorian antique lace and vibrant details, while offering Sue Wong’s signature style: romance, femininity and exquisite hand-craftsmanship. Ranging from $329 to $609, the Sue Wong for Walt Disney Signature collection will be available in fine department stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom’s, Lord and Taylor and Macy’s, as well as on www.SueWong.com. View Collection Here.

Jewelry

Tom Binns for Disney
Tom Binns – statement pieces

Stella McCartney

Swarovski is launching an all new collection of jewelry pieces that will take consumers inside the world of “Underland” to commune with the unexpectedly mad and caring characters. Capturing the spirit of each character in the film, the line features a host of vintage and gothic details inspired by the outlandish personalities found down the rabbit hole, and demonstrates the attention to detail in products that are the result of the long collaboration between Disney and Swarovski. The line features 17 pieces including pendants, necklaces, rings and earrings inspired by the Red Queen, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit as well as by the film’s beautiful settings including the talking flower garden and by other Alice icons such as teapots, cupcakes and keys.  Ranging from $80 – $350, the line will be available at select department stores, at Swarovski retail stores and online at www.Swarovski.com, with select pieces at www.DisneyStore.com.

Makeup

Urban Decay

Paul & Joe

O.P.I.

Urban Decay has designed a limited-edition Alice In Wonderland-inspired Book of Shadows. The book of 16 gorgeous eye shadow shades was inspired by Alice’s whimsical and colorful adventure – a “curiouser and curiouser” hike through twisted vines and skyscraping toadstools. The palette opens to a playful pop-up scene of Alice and her journey through the mushroom forest. The Alice Book of Shadows offers 16 best-selling eye shadows, as well as two travel sizes of 24/7 Eye Pencils and one Eyeshadow Primer Potion. DCP and Urban Decay worked together to develop names for the eye shadows reflective of the many topsy-turvy people and things in Underland: Underland, Alice, Oraculum, Queen, Chessur, White Rabbit, Wonderland, Curiouser, Muchness, Mushroom, Midnight Tea Party, Vorpal, Absolem, Drink Me, Eat Me, Mad Hatter, Jabberwocky. It’s available for $52 at Sephora, ULTA and Macy’s or online at sephora.com, ulta.com, macys.com, and urbandecay.com.

OPI will debut four limited-edition Nail Lacquer shades inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The fantastical shades include: “Absolutely Alice” – an absolutely amazing blue glitter; “Thanks So Muchness!” – a “much-have” red shimmer; “Off with Her Red!” – a glowering, empowering hot red; and “Mad as a Hatter” – a madly marvelous black-multi glitter. The spectacular colors are featured in a beautiful movie-themed display.  The Alice in Wonderland-inspired Nail Lacquers by OPI are available at professional salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta for $8.50 suggested retail per Nail Lacquer.

Fashion Spread

Style Amor

Annie Lebowitz for Vogue December 2003

Fan Sites

Alice 2010 Blog

If you don’t know what this is, it’s RuPaul’s Drag Race!!! Find out more information here.

This is Tom Binns’ limited-edition capsule collection for Disney which was inspired by Tim Burton’s upcoming film, “Alice in Wonderland.”

The “All Heart” necklace named after the movie’s Red Queen, the most.

Price: $1,000 at Tom Binns Design online.

Tom Binns, and Irish born jewelery designer with an incredible body of work over 2 decades, recently designed a signature line for Walt Disney which will feature six limited edition pieces inspired by the characters Alice, Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and Binns’s favorite, the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). The pieces will range from $1,000 to $2,000, and will retail in stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys in New York.

Tom Binns will also design a 35 piece collection for Disney Couture with prices ranging from $100 to $500 which will appear on a larger scale in stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and boutiques including Kitson and Fred Segal. The collections will become available in the US alongside the release of Alice in Wonderland in March 2010.

Some photos from the collection:

See more of the collection here on FabSugar.

Check out the Video of the presentation at Magic: